Patrik Ervell

Speaking on the phone with new-to-Nordstrom designer Patrik Ervell about his personal history and design inspirations, we guessed he might talk about coming of age in the 1990s. His take on Seinfeld-esque jeans sort of gives him away as a child of that era.

We didn’t expect the native Northern Californian to go on about Britpop, British underground culture (“they invented all the forms”) and Brutalist architecture. Nor to reveal that he once worked at Nordstrom. But that’s an actual fact.

The clothes you should be wearing this fall from Ervell display a blend of austerity and flyness, with careful attention paid to sensory details. There is a distant Joy Division thing happening, the printed logo on a few shirts looks just like Jodeci’s, and everything is made to feel a certain way on your skin that’s hard to convey through the Internet.

On the final day of our history-making, all-menswear Pop-In @ Nordstrom: Heartbreakers Club, let’s take a moment to reflect on a glorious past few weeks, packed with legendary thugs, digital graffiti, and motorcycles in space. Also: interpretive dance. In case you haven’t seen it, check out our campaign video above (starring Seattle movement artist Matt Drews)—and keep reading for an expansive gallery of visually poetic photos from behind the scenes (and featuring rare wares from Mark McNairy, Hood By Air, LPD New York and more).

New York-based designer Patrik Ervell melds Japanese-inspired prints, granola-fed outdoor gear, laser-sharp tailoring and obscure textiles like no one else can. A California-raised economics and art-history major, Ervell is also a friend of the Nordstrom family–he and our Director of Creative Projects, Olivia Kim (the mastermind behind each Pop-In @ Nordstrom) go way back. In fact, his current studio happens to be Olivia’s old apartment.

Keep reading for an exclusive glimpse at this innovative designer’s inner sanctum—and to sit in on a candid chat between longtime compadres Olivia Kim and Patrik Ervell.

Designer Patrik Ervell is a bit of a walking contradiction. Or maybe it all makes sense…

Ervell grew up in the wilds of the California redwoods; studied poly-sci and economics at Cal Berkeley; ditched those fact-based pursuits to create clothes; and finds ways to incorporate wildly utilitarian materials, like sailcloth and drysuits, into his minimalist, tailored aesthetic.

We’d like to believe a man is at his best when he’s well-rounded, and Ervell appears to be just that. A fusion of outdoor exhilaration and studied pragmatism seems to pervade his work, resulting in a deft take on that eternally sought-after apex of form and function. Keep reading to see Ervell’s impeccably cut clothes in action.

You might have noticed our previous Pop-In @ Nordstrom curated shops, featuring French curios, obscure Xmas gifts, and unexpected ways to jump-start your New Year. But if there’s ever been a Pop-In deserving of your full and unadulterated attention, it’s the one launching this Friday: Entitled Heartbreakers Club, it’s stocked to the rafters with all menswear, all the time.

Compiled by our director of creative projects, Olivia Kim, the shop will showcase streetwear designed by artists and DJs, exclusive collaborations with emerging designers, and the leather jacket that Marlon Brando made famous in 1953 (or was it the other way around?).